Ensilage-packer.



A. LAWRENCE. ENSILAGE PACKER.

7 APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26, 1917- 1 ,,Q8?',91 6 atented Aug. 21, 1917.

2-SHEETS-SHEET llm E/vron A. Lazawmce A. LAWRENCE.

ENSILAGE PACKER. APPLICATION man FEB. 26. I912.

Patented Aug. 21, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

J I a l R 1 Kim I/ C n 4 s T? 4% J WITNESSES rerun.

AMIBBQSE LANRENCE, OF MEDIEUINE LODGE, KANSAS.

ENSILAGE-PAQKER.

Specification of Letters. Patent.

' Patented Aug. 21, 191?.

Application filed February 26, 1917. Serial No. 151,097.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that i, AMnRosn LAWRENCE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Medicine Lodge, in the county of Barber and State of Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Ensilage-Packer, of-

ensilage in a circular path; to provide a packer including packing rollers, one of which is power driven, and coned or tapered to cause the packer to travel circularly; and to provide a power driven packer, the total weight of which, including the weight of the motor, as well as the weight of the workman, will be imposed on the ensilage and the whole caused to travel about a relatively fixed centering post as an axis.

Other objects are to provide for permit,

tingfthe revoluble packer to bodily slide vertically on the centering post as the silo is filled, and to accommodate itself to the surface irregularities of the ensilage without straining the centerlng post or the parts of the revolving packer, and without binding on said post.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a centering post to be built up of separate sections as the silo is filled; and to construct the revolving packer in simple form, and yet possessing; the requisite strength and durability.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a silo on the line 1-1, Fig. 2, showing my improved packer in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a. plan view of theimprovedpacker-,the silo being shown in horizontal section Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the packer;

Fig. 4 is an elevation, the view being taken at right angles to Fig. 3.

In carrying out my invention in practice,

a centering post 13 is provided adapted to.

be suitably fixed inthe silo. In practice said post is made up of separate sections so that it may be built up as the silo is filled, the sections being connected in any suitable manner as by a tenon 11 and a mortise 11. The post is shown fixed at its base 12 on the bottom 13 of a silo l l, which may be of any suitable material. The packer is made with suitable frame Work includinga platform v 15, and revolubly mounted on the frame at the underside of the platform are a coned or tapered packing roller 16 and a preferably cylindrical packing roller 17. The nuinerhl 18 indicates a suitable axle or trunnions on the roller 16, and l9 indicates the axle of the roller 17.

The rollers are approximately radially ar-' ranged relatively to the post 10 and at a suitable angle to each other, being disposed in practice from 60 to 90 apart. The tapered roller 16 is positively driven as hereinafter explained, and it is therefore disposed with the larger end outermost so that the driving of the same will cause the packer to traverse a circular path about the post 10 as an axis. The cylindrical roller 17 is made up of separate and independent disks loose on the axle 19 so that the respective disks may travel at diii'erent peripheral speeds.

The ing membersand. hangers to support the rollers may be suitably constructed, there being in the example shown an angular bearing bracket 20 at the adjacent ends of the rollers and formed with a pendent hangs member 21 aflordinga bearing for the shaft or trunnion at one end of'the roller 16. Said angle plate 20 is shown as secured by an angle bracket 22, bolted as at 23 to the platform 15. To support the outer ends of the respective rollers, a plate 24 is suitably seframe elements and the general bear-- cured to the platform 15 and formed at one end with a bearing member 25 for the outer end of the shaft 19, and with a suitable bearbearing 28 having a vertical bore 29 to slidably receive the post 10. The said bearing block is rockably secured at its outer end to a yoke or fork 31, the inner end or base of which as best seen in Fig. 3 is swiveled, ad-

vantageously by the reduced and headed end 32 of the shaft 19.

The roller 16 is power driven and in practice any suitable motor may be employed for the purpose, there being shown conventionally an internal combustion motor 33. On the shaft 34: of the motor is a pinion 35 meshing with a pinion 36 on a short shaft 37 suitably mounted in they frame' The shaft 37 carries a pinion 38 which in turn drives a gear wheel 39 in fixed relation to the roller 16. Thus, the said roller 16 will be revolved on its axis and thereby caused to traverse a circular path which will cause the complete packer to revolve about the post 10.

The numeral 40 indicates a guard rail on the platform 15. In practice, the operator will stand on the platform 15 adjacent to the rail 40 to' distribute the ensilage which, as

usual, is received through a pipe, (not shown).' At the same time the operator may control the motor 33.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A packer of the class described including a frame, a post to center the frame in a silo, an approximately radial packing roller carried by the frame, a bearing vertically rockable on the frame and slidably and revolubly embracing the post, and means to revolve the frame about the said post as an axis.

2. A packer of the class described including a frame, a post to center the frame in a silo, an approximately radial packing roller carried by the frame, a vertical bearing on the frame and slidably and revolubly embracing the post, a yoke in which the said bearing is rockable vertically, the said yoke having a swiveled connection with the frame,

and means to cause said frame and rollers to travel about the post as an axis.

AMBROSE LAWRENCE. 

